The Many Masters of the Malevolent Manuscript
by Dracis Tran
Summary: Memory is an imperfect thing. Living through very similar events over and over is not conducive to remembering everything about those events. Those that are trapped in the Book of Darkness have more than just "imperfect" memory...
1. Darkness

She knew her eyes were open, though she couldn't see anything. The darkness was complete. Movement was possible, but sluggish and resisting. Trying made her feel sleepy, wanting to return to the unconsciousness from whence she came.

But she was curious. She did not know where she was.

She was aware, though, and that was something that she remembered vaguely. And her four companions. And the concept of her duty, and her master. She was expecting more of a flood of images and ideas to come, especially given that her eyes were not providing any images themselves, but the flood was only a short trickle. There wasn't much to her memories. A lot less than she wanted, anyway.

There was darkness around her. Darkness enveloping all that she could sense. Darkness blocked her sight, hearing, touch… and even her memory. All she had was darkness.

But somehow, the darkness knew her. It was comforting. She let herself drift, not minding her predicament. She'd have a new master soon.

* * *

Darkness

* * *

"_Anfangen_."

The man was blinded for a moment by the eerie glow that suddenly brightened and took over his vision. He raised his arm to defend his face from the onslaught, but it was over suddenly. He blinked and lowered his arm slowly. Arrayed in front of him were four people. On the far left was a young woman in blonde hair. Roughly center was another young woman, though with a more stern demeanor, with pink hair. On the far right was a girl in red pigtails, and in the back was a male familiar. They were all kneeling to the man.

The man frowned. This hadn't really been what he had been expecting.

"Confirmed startup of the Book of Darkness," the young woman in the center with the pink hair said formally.

"We are the guardian knights who will gather for the Book of Darkness, and protect its master," the blonde continued.

"Clouds that gather under the master of the night sky," the familiar added.

"The Wolkenritter… awaits your command," the girl finished.

There was a silence as the 'Wolkenritter' and the man didn't move. The silence stretched until finally the man broke it with a sigh and a few words. "You have _got_ to be kidding."

* * *

_How did you get this injury?_

…_I made a mistake._

_That's unlike you. I don't think… I don't remember you getting hurt like this before._

_I remember. It happens._

…_I don't. Were we not together at the time?_

_No. You healed me then much as you are healing me now._

_Then why don't I remember it?_

_There are things that we don't remember. Memories aren't perfect._

_You'd think I'd remember doing this for you before._

_Do you know what you're doing?_

_Of course I do._

_Then it is no matter. As long as we can do our duty._

…

* * *

_Arthur?_

There was no response. Peter looked around warily, though he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the semi-darkness of night among the city streets, lanterns fighting against the encroachment of the blackness. Patrols were supposed to be… _normal_ affairs; none of these scares that his partner always managed to give him. But, normally, he actually answered when called mentally. Not tonight.

_Arthur?_

So he had finally managed to get himself into a predicament. He likely had 'managed' to bash his own head in, and Peter had a guilty jolt as his negative side asserted that the kid deserved it. That wasn't strictly true, even though Peter would have given almost anything to get a new partner. Peter sighed. There really was nothing to do but find the poor boy and get him sent up to the infirmary. He sensed a magical power… probably sixty or so feet to his left. He glanced. There was an alleyway there that led to the next street over, where Arthur had been patrolling.

Peter walked over toward the alleyway keeping his senses open. Only the one magical signature. Just like every other night, nothing was happening. Just Arthur being Arthur. A small part of Peter indulged in a quick fantasy of Arthur being dismissed for his latest stupidity, and Peter gaining a partner that wouldn't be so…

There were two people in the alley. One was standing, the other laying down. Peter didn't recognize the one standing, but that was the one with the magical signature. Glancing down… that was Arthur. His eyes were closed. There was no magical signature.

He didn't even have time to scream, much less ready his weapon.

* * *

_Do you remember any of our masters?_

_Not specifically. They run together._

_Me too. I'm getting worried._

_It's not important. The only master that matters is the one we have now._

…_Yes. But don't you wonder? What mistakes they made, what we could've learned from them?_

…_What do we need to know beyond our duty and how to perform it? And we've known those forever and aren't about to forget._

_You can always be better._

_That's why we train._

_But shouldn't we train our minds?_

_We needn't think. The master does that.  


* * *

_

The throne room was vast. A huge arching ceiling of stone soared above the heads of the occupants of the room. On the throne sat a man, looking to be in his thirties. He wore a dark cloak with a cape that was draped across the right side of the throne. On that side stood a tall form bedecked in black armor next to a kid-sized form in identical armor other than the size. On the other side, two forms, each slightly shorter than the tall form opposite the throne, stood in the same armor. They were a foreboding presence.

On the steps leading up to the dais, the man in red cried out again, though no one reacted. The crowd that was arrayed facing the throne were too afraid to do anything in response, while the man on the throne seemed not to care. It was impossible to determine what the four figures in armor thought… not that any eyes were on them. They were scenery, a part of the background to be noticed and promptly forgotten.

"Please!" the fallen figure cried, trying to crawl up the stairs to the top of the dais. "I beg you!"

"Shut him up," the man on the throne said dismissively. The tallest of the figures in armor walked to the fallen man, calling a sword into their hand. Quickly, the sword flashed red through the air, separating the head from the body. The figure returned to its place beside the throne, and there was silence in the room.

The man on the throne rose. "I am your new king," he said, looking impassively at the shocked crowd. He gestured to the fallen grotesque form…_forms_… on the stairs in front of him. "The old age is over, and a new one has begun." His eyes narrowed as he swept a malevolent gaze over the crowd. "Get used to it." He spun on his heel. "My commands are to be carried out immediately. The commands of the Knights," he gestured vaguely at the figures in armor, "are to be considered mine."

He smiled, though the crowd arrayed behind him couldn't see it. "Knights, check them for Linker Cores. Make some pages." He turned back to look at them and allow them to see his predatory grin. More than a couple stepped backward. "And let's not kill them quite yet."

* * *

_How many times has it been now?_

_I don't remember._

_I lost track a long time ago, but I didn't think you would._

_I remember other things. Our names._

_So it is possible to remember?_

_Sometimes. Sometimes not._

_That's frustrating._

_It's not important._

_No…_

_Our charge and each other. That's all we need._

…_You're right._


	2. Vita

"Knights, line up. I need to look at you and your devices."

When the master gave such a simple command, the Knights didn't even think. The obeying was such a conditioned response that before she even knew it, she was in line with her companions with her device out. She waited patiently for her turn of the inspection.

"Now," her master said as he came in front of her. "What possible use do you have? You're just so… so…"

"I am a frontline fighter. My offense is overpowering. I can break any barrier. With my device at my side, there is nothing I cannot destroy."

Her master looked skeptical. "I guess I'll believe it when I see it, but if that's what you were built for…" He paused. "Do you have a name?"

"I am the Iron Hammer Knight, Vita. My device is the Iron Count, Graf Eisen."

* * *

Vita

* * *

"How many pages did you get?"

The redhead Knight had just entered the Tower from the window in the Master's room. She turned to regard him as she answered his question. "Sixty."

"And that brings us to…"

"Three hundred forty-seven."

The child-Knight had put away her Knight's Armour now, and had floated the Book to where the Master liked to keep it when it was not in use by one of his charges. She bowed to her Master and made to leave the room to resume guard duty. "Your counterparts did better during their turns with the Book…"

The child-Knight froze in the middle of reaching for the doorway. "I met more than a few mages who had already been collected." Her hands were fists.

"Still," the Master continued, "it's wonderful that you were able to collect sixty pages for me, but I'd rather the others continued that task. You can remain to guard the Tower." He waved a hand in dismissal. He didn't even look at her.

"…Very well."

Moments later, the redhead was in the presence of the blonde, who was the next on duty to collect pages from the Book the following day. "Do me a favor?" the diminutive one asked.

"Hmm?"

"Collect fewer than sixty pages on your turn."

"That's… an order?"

"A favor, I said. For me."

The blonde sighed. "I doubt I'll get even close to that, if the orders about our range of operations remains in effect."

"It does," the little redhead assured her. "Just in case."

"...I'll do my best."

* * *

_I am constantly underestimated._

_It's an advantage of yours._

_Not when it's the Master that underestimates me._

_They learn, soon enough._

_Not all of them._

_The ones that don't have the time to learn don't matter in the long run._

_I wonder if I remember this happening before because it happens so damn often…_

_You need to know it so that you can help the Master learn to get past it._

_You know, there are things that we don't remember that might actually be useful._

…_We know enough._

…_For now.  


* * *

_

"Retreat! Use your movement magic!" The mage in charge called. "Don't get caught by her! She fights best close range!"

Various robotic voices called out movement magic as the mages retreated from the immediate vicinity of the little fiery Knight. A space was quickly cleared around her, which the mage who had his Device trained on the Knight had been waiting for the whole time. He let himself smirk. "Gotcha. Yuune! _Destruction…_"

"Graf Eisen. Cartridge load."

"**Jawohl!**" came the metallic response. "**Raketenform!**"

"_Blast!_" A giant red beam exploded out of the end of the mage's device, screaming across the distance between him and his target. Upon reaching the target, the beam ended in a large red and orange explosion that sent quite a bit of smoke out and blinded the mages.

_Did we get her?_ the leader asked over telepathy.

_No sighting here,_ his sergeant replied.

_Neither here,_ the shooter responded, spitting. _I can't confirm the kill_.

_Negative hit! Negative hit! She-_

Out of the smoke came the figure, wreathed in the shadow of her cover. Her device was now a stick with a _rocket_ on the end. That was all the shooter could determine before he had been struck. The blow barreled through his Barrier Jacket and he fell limply to the ground below.

Vita watched him fall for a moment. _I hope I can find him later, _she thought. _Be such a waste if I couldn't absorb his Linker Core. He actually stung me with that shot._ Once she figured she could guess pretty well where he would land, she fired up Graf Eisen's jet again. _I've got plenty of targets left, though. Shouldn't be too hard to get a good twenty pages out of this._

She chuckled darkly to herself. _And _they_ thought they were ambushing _me!

* * *

_You're toeing the line lately._

_I haven't crossed it yet._

_And you shall not. But something's different._

_Oh, so you remember that, now?_

_Cut the backtalk. What's going on?_

…_This Master is terrible._

_Vita!_

_He is! He can't use us effectively, he insists on keeping the Book on him at all times, he has no idea how to judge Linker Core size –_

_Stop. Now._

…

_He is the Master, and we follow him. You would do well to remember that._

…_Not for long.  


* * *

_

Three figures, one short and two of somewhat adult height, stood on the roof of the abandoned warehouse. Three adult-sized figures were laying in the center of the circle that the standing ones made. The short one huffed. "They weren't even worth half the time it took."

"How many pages?" the male asked.

"Three. Total." The short one's temper was obviously off its leash. "A page each!"

The male blew out a rough sigh. "We should be taking more risks. Doing things more efficiently."

"Orders are orders, Vita," the taller female said mildly. "If Master says to, we must."

"We're not questioning that," Vita snapped. She quelled, but visibly simmered, when the other female held out a placating hand.

"We should direct that rage more productively. How many more pages?"

"Five hundred fifty-six," the male responded.

The two taller figures flew off in streaks of light, leaving the short one behind for a moment. "I don't want to have to get _five hundred fifty-six_ more linker cores!" she groused, but she quickly followed her companions up into the sky.

* * *

_You are angry again._

_I was angry before?_

_You were a very angry girl… before._

…_I don't remember it…_

_I know. Something is wrong with me… and it has spread to you._

_Are we in danger?_

_None I can determine._

_So the cycle's safe. For all five of us._

_Six._

_Right. Can't drop the one?_

_Not and make sure I keep the rest. I couldn't bear it to be alone._

…_Neither could I. We'll make it. We always do._


	3. Zafira

"Has anyone figured out what's attacking us?" one of the four remaining mages asked the rest. He seemed to be the leader.

"No, sir," another one said. "We think he's a familiar of some-" His statement was cut off with a cry of pain as he was struck through with a white magical spike. The other three mages started back from the man.

"Some familiar," one of them said in awe. He was next, struck through by another white spike, identical to the first. The other two were now frantically turning round and round, trying to spot their attacker.

The leader was the more calm of the two. "The instant you spot him, gut him, Private," he said, still turning and searching. "Since he's only a familiar, he won't-" Another cry, and he was just as responsive as the rest of the fallen mages.

The remaining mage was becoming frantic. "Come out and fight like a man!" he challenged, though the stutter in his voice betrayed his fear. "I-I mean, a true familiar!" His eyes widened just before he met the same fate as his companions.

Out of the shadows came a figure. Dark-skinned, blue catlike ears and tail, he was clearly angry. "Fools. I am no _familiar. _I am the _Shielding Guardian Beast_, Zafira."

* * *

Zafira

* * *

A petite redhead floated above the city, looking about. Her pigtail braids were as stiff and sure as she was, and her face was set in a determined line. Her companion, a wolf with distinctive blue fur and long, powerful claws, was watching her rather than the city below. "Do you sense anything, Vita?" the wolf asked.

"A few signatures," the girl responded, though she didn't look at her companion. "I don't think there's anything we haven't collected yet."

The wolf grunted. "Likely. How many pages are left?"

"Fourteen."

There was a silence between them for a time. Vita closed her eyes; her wolf-like companion looked away at the city, sending out his senses to attempt to find another victim that would get them closer to the completion of their task. After a while, Vita opened one eye to regard her companion. "You know, we could capture ourse-"

"No."

"Hmm?"

"No. We will not be sacrificing ourselves. Not if we're not ordered to do so." The wolf's tone was adamant.

"Zafira, this one is just as unlikely to succeed as the last one…"

"No. On the off-chance… I want to live. And I want all of you to live too. Even you."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"…Nothing. I found a signature that we haven't captured yet. Might be as many as seven pages."

Vita glared at the Guardian Beast. "Fine. Can you handle it yourself?"

"Probably. Keep the book; look for more," Zafira suggested as he shot off in pursuit of the magical signature that he had sensed.

Vita grunted. "I'll get him later for that."

* * *

_You're badly wounded._

_Yes, but you can heal me._

_Not if it gets much more extensive than this. You need to take better care of yourself._

…

_We all need to survive, Zafira._

…_Just heal me._

_Promise me that you'll take better care of yourself. You're overworked._

…_I'm sorry._

_That's not what I asked for._

…_Alright. I promise._

_That's better. You know our demise is all the more bittersweet if we're not all there together._

…_You fight dirty._

_You expected something else?  


* * *

_

"They're in trouble." The blonde Knight's voice managed to break through the haze of sleep for the wolf. His eyes shot open instantly and he rose from the pallet on the floor that had become his in the past few short weeks.

"Where?"

The blonde was in her armor, with her device active. She faced the one window of the room in which the Knights slept, her eyes closed as she and her device searched for the easiest way to explain to Zafira the predicament. "They're both bound. A pair of strong mages have them. If we can distract them…"

"We can break their binds. Tell me where."

Beat. "That way," she said, lifting her left hand, the hand that was not glowing a greenish hue, to point roughly to the west. "Above the buildings. You shouldn't be able to miss them."

Zafira rose, walking over to the window. "Are the two binding mages the only ones there?"

"No," the blonde replied, her eyes still closed. "There is one other… he seems to be trying to question them. In any case, he's close enough to them that if you break either bind, he'll be taken by surprise."

"Good. Follow me," the Guardian Beast said as he jumped out the window and shot out toward the Knights that were in trouble.

"Right behind you," the blonde said, smiling. A moment later, the curtains on the window fluttering in an unnoticed breeze was the only hint that they had been in the room at all.

* * *

_There's something calming about this._

…_Killing people?_

_No. Collecting pages._

_Ah. I thought you meant killing people._

_No. That's merely necessary._

_You mean you don't like killing people?_

_No more than anything else._

_Funny. I always find you killing people._

…_You have a one track mind._

_I like killing people._

_You would.  


* * *

_

"Zafira, would you come here for a moment?"

The master's orders were always to be obeyed. Zafira nodded to the others as they left on the mission that they had just been given. He would join them in due time. "Yes, Master?"

"You have two separate forms, the wolf form and the humanoid form, correct?"

Zafira nodded. "Those are the two forms that are efficient with my mana usage," he replied. "I can be in other forms, but my strength versus how much mana I require from the Book to maintain will become less than optimal."

The master nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, then. Which form is better for your strength?"

Zafira paused a moment before answering. "I have better access to my abilities when in humanoid form, while I have more raw strength while in wolf form. That's the main difference; the mana difference between those two forms is negligible."

The master scratched his chin in thought for a moment. "I'd prefer you to be in your humanoid form more, then. I'd rather you have access to more skills than to have a boost in strength." The master rose from his seat and began to walk out of the room. "You may go, Zafira." He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Zafira let out a frustrated sigh. _I choose my form carefully_, he groused inwardly. _I know how I can serve you best!_ But the master always thought that they knew better as to how the Wolkenritter should operate, and apparently this one was no exception. Zafira left quietly and quickly to catch up to his companions. He would get his mind off of the subject by collecting pages.

* * *

_Do you remember your original master?_

_None of us do; we've been over that many times._

_No, do you remember _your_ original master?_

_Oh… vaguely. A couple wispy conversations, at best. Not even a face._

_You are the one of us who knew best about being servants._

_I was a servant to an excellent master. That is more often not so of late._

_But you never say anything when you're upset with them. Everyone else has, even your leader._

_Not you._

_Hard for me to, I get a very short time with very few of our masters._

_I'd count you lucky._

_I don't. I'd rather be out there with you._

…_When you say it like that, I think you're right._


	4. Shamal

"Who are you?" The Sergeant challenged, leaning up into the blonde's face. Her stony silence was the only answer that he had gotten from her for the past hour of questioning. Of the group of four that had been doing the bidding of this dimensional criminal, this was the only one that they had been able to catch alone and vulnerable.

"Dammit," the Sergeant groused, slamming his fist onto the one table that was in the room. The blonde knight didn't even flinch.

_Sir! We're under attack! The other Knights are–_

The Sergeant spun and ran for the door, pulling it open so that he could help his soldiers; it was obvious that he needed a new strategy if he was going to get anything out of the Knight that he had captured. He did not expect to be met by a little girl on the other side of the door.

"Out of my-" the words died on his lips as he recognized the redheaded girl-Knight that he had heard about, but had not yet seen in person. The hammer device was the confirmation of his fears, as it met his skull with a sickening crunch, launching him out of the small girl's way.

The blonde looked up. "That might have been a bit excessive."

Vita ignored her companion's statement. "Are you alright?"

The captive nodded. "I am unharmed. They were not willing to try torture."

Vita was deft with her ministrations, freeing her comrade from the ropes and magical bindings quickly. "Let's get you out of here. I cleared a way; Zafira's causing a distraction."

Vita ducked out of the room as quickly as she had entered it, and the blonde was just behind her, but something made her stop and look at the Sergeant's body, which now had a small pool of red liquid collecting around his head. "Let's heal him."

"**Ja.**" Her rings glowed, and a green glow surrounded the man. She didn't waste much time; just stabilized the man and stopped the bleeding. She turned to leave, but stopped once more. She spoke one sentence, and then she was gone.

"I am Shamal, the Knight of the Lake, and this is the Ring of Breezes, Klarer Wind."

* * *

Shamal

* * *

"So you're the support mage I'm provided, then?" the Master asked the blonde of the group.

"Yes, Master. I am an adept healer as well as able to perform quite a few other support tasks for the Wolkenritter," she replied.

The Master leaned back in his chair, frowning. "So you generally aren't all that useful-" the spunky redhead seemed to be bursting to say something, and he decided to placate what was likely her objection, "_directly_, in collecting pages, yes?"

"I am not very effective at it alone, no, but I work effectively with any or all of the others, Master."

The Master sighed. "I was hoping for four warriors, but this will have to do, I guess."

"Master…" the redhead said, quietly.

"Speak, then, if it bothers you so," the Master commanded.

"Master, Sha-"

"No names. I told you, you are nameless separately. You are _only_ Wolkenritter."

The redhead obviously swallowed, but otherwise managed to school her expression. "Yes, Master. Our Support is important to our functions. She creates our Cartridges-"

"Which you shouldn't be depending on, since they're unreliable at best. And she can heal, which I can handle for you myself. I can easily be a better support for you all, since you seem to have a sixth sense as to where I am at all times, and I can easily scry any of you now." The redhead seemed to want to reply, but a hand gesture from the pink-haired one forestalled her. She even seemed subdued by it. "I guess this makes it easier to split into two groups, with each to have at least a warrior and support… but I'd greatly prefer another warrior to another support mage." He looked at the pink-haired leader and the blue-furred familiar. "You two, come with me and the book. You others will search in the other direction."

"Yes, Master," came from all of the Wolkenritter in unison, and shortly afterward the redhead and the blonde were left alone, flying across the night sky.

"Shamal…"

"It's alright, Vita."

"No, it's not. He was wrong. We are not nearly as effective if you're not with us."

"I know he's wrong. The fact that he's wrong doesn't matter."

"Yes it does! It means that he won't use us effectively! It means that he doesn't respect us as the warriors _we_ are, if he doesn't respect the Knight that supports us!" Vita even growled. "It's like he doesn't even understand that the title of Knight isn't lightly given."

"If he doesn't use us effectively, do you think he's going to be the one to free us? To actually master the Book of Darkness?"

Vita was silent for a moment. "He doesn't respect you," she repeated petulantly.

"And that's okay," was the reply, "because you do."

* * *

_I don't think this master will survive long enough to see the Book filled._

_It's happened before. The curse isn't a very kind thing._

_We should be able to complete our task quickly enough that the Master has the ability to survive it._

_Sometimes the Master is already in poor health. Sometimes it is out of our control._

_You should be able to heal them._

_Some things are beyond my ability._

_Dammit! It's galling enough that the Defense Program kills us all repeatedly, but to fail even before that point…!_

_Hush, Zafira. We just haven't found what we need yet._

…_I hope we find it soon._

_Me too, Zafira. Me too.  


* * *

_

The soft green light always came through the crack under the wooden door to the workshop. It was seemingly never-ending. Zafira stood nearby the portal, but he had been forbidden to enter. He was going against his master's wishes even as he stood there, as he was not sleeping as he had been requested to. Zafira would sleep soon enough; he wouldn't allow his tiredness to affect him enough for the master to notice… but he had to come by the doorway to make sure that the green light remained strong. It was the only thing he could do, and thus he did it.

He heard footsteps, and he quickly hid himself behind a piece of furniture so that he would not be seen. He needn't have worried, though, as it was only Vita who had come around the corner. She stopped to look at the door forlornly, and Zafira made to leave his hiding place and talk to his comrade, but more footsteps sounded from the hidden hallway, and Vita dove behind a different bookshelf.

It was only their leader, who stopped before the doorway and looked at it and the green glow that came through the crack with her usual stern expression. Before either Vita or Zafira could reveal themselves, there was another set of footsteps. While this froze Vita and Zafira in their places, the pink-haired leader did not move or flinch. Around the corner came the man that neither of the hiding Knights wanted to be seen by. He barely acknowledged the presence of the leader Knight, and went through the door. There was some muffled talking and then he came back out with a box, which he handed to the visible Knight.

"Make these last longer than the last ones. Her production has slowed down." He then left from where he had come. The Knight didn't respond.

Vita and Zafira emerged from their hiding places, but no Knight, not even the leader, was surprised to see the others. No words were needed. They left to sleep; they could not help Shamal if they were not at their best.

* * *

_Shamal, you're working too hard._

_He's running you all ragged. I need to keep you all in shape to answer his call._

_He has unreasonable expectations of us; let him learn that the hard way._

_But… but then…_

_He won't be the one either._

…_Even so, if he is, I'd never forgive myself._

_You know, Shamal, as much as you worry about us, we worry about you too._

_I know that. I know… but you all don't know as well as I how it is to be alone._

_We know…_

_No, you don't. And you will never. Not if I have even one word to say about it.  


* * *

_

"Don't you dare," Shamal was whispering as she worked feverishly over the prone form of the youngest Knight. "Don't you dare, Vita."

The green glow that was so often a comfort to the Wolkenritter, was not at this moment. It was the only sign they had that there was still a chance. Vita opened her eyes feebly to look at the Knight of the Lake and managed to put her face into a wan smile. "I won't," she managed, before she began to cough.

"Shhh…" Shamal urged. "Don't talk; you need your strength to fight this. I might have to call on enough of it to make you weak as a kitten."

"I… don't mind."

"Shh!" Shamal said more sharply. "I mean it."

There was silence between the two, other than the soft sounds of rustling as Shamal worked her magic through her Device frantically. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow, and her face was screwed up in a mask of concentration. Vita's face did not change from the wan smile as she watched the face of her savior steadily. Then, with a suddenness, Shamal slowed her movements. "The worst of it is over. Going to have to make you rest right there for a while."

"I wasn't…worried."

"Vita, you really mustn't talk," Shamal said, now exasperated with her charge. "You could undo everything I've done. We _stay together_. What part of that can't you understand?" Her voice broke.

Vita didn't respond verbally. A hand sought the blonde's, and Shamal took Vita's hand in both of hers.

* * *

_I'm happy you are able to be out there when I cannot be._

_I'm only doing my duty…_

_You know very well that's not what I'm talking about._

…_I do. I wish you were with us, too._

_Yes. I could help you take care of them._

_No, silly. Then I could take care of you, too. You need it more than the rest of us, stuck in here most of the time._

…_That's very kind of you, Shamal._

_It's only what you deserve._

_It's more than I deserve. You're more than any of us deserve._

_I believe the reverse is true._


	5. Signum

"You are under arrest for attacking civilians without provocation. If you lay down your weapon, you may argue your case in front of a tribunal."

"Do you think we're-" the familiar began, but she was cut off.

"Zafira, that's enough," the other Knight said. It was said in a mild tone, but there was an undercurrent of… something… and it was obviously this something that caused the familiar to silence himself. The pink-haired Knight said no more, merely readying her sword and stepping in front of the wolf-familiar.

"If you do not comply, you will be forced to comply by force," the Enforcer stated. She hated it when she had to give this speech. Almost no one complied anyway. Might as well skip to the 'force' part of the equation and not waste anyone's time.

Just as she had been expecting, she was charged by the Knight with the pink hair. She brought up Lucerne and deflected the approaching blow away and to the right. The blow was enough to make her spin away from it to take the edge off of the contact. Aided by the momentum, she tried to drive the spike of her haft toward her assailant, but found her blow blocked by the sheathe of her opponent's weapon. She disengaged.

This didn't give her much of a break, as she immediately had to deal with the Knight on her again. She blocked a pair of blows from the sword and decided to go on the offense with a counterstrike. "Lucerne!"

"**Mistress! **_**Armor Piercing Strike!**_"

"_**Panzer Geist!**_"

The pink barrier that appeared cracked under the pressure of the Enforcer's attack, and actually managed to break through the barrier. The Knight twisted away from the blow, but couldn't escape completely. A tear appeared in her Barrier Jacket across the off-forearm. Before the Enforcer could take advantage of her successful strike, she was thrown off balance as she was forced to deflect another sword blow. The next did her in; she fell limply to the ground.

"D-Dammit." _I have failed._

_Enforcer Young?_

_The Knights are not to be-_

The pink-haired Knight revealed the Enforcer's linker core. The Enforcer cried out with the pain of it.

"Well fought, but you are not ready to face me; I am the Sword Knight, Signum. The fiery demonic sword is Laevatein."

* * *

Signum

* * *

The rest of the Knights had left the room, but their leader was held back by the master. She gestured to the rest of them, and they filed out quietly, the male closing the door with a barely audible click. The leader closed her eyes for a moment, making sure that her mental instructions to her companions had been given properly. She ignored the sounds behind her while completing this task, but once it was complete, she turned around.

Her master was on the bed. She didn't particularly care for the look in his eyes, but she did nothing. He was the master, and her will was his to command. Her body was telling her that it was cold in the room, but she didn't really feel it. Just like she didn't really feel the master's hands when they had touched her before. Just like she wouldn't really feel them in a few moments.

She stared straight ahead, as was her custom. To speak only when spoken to. To act only when told to act, or in the defense of the master. To do only what she knew for a fact was what the master wanted, and to remain silent and vigilant otherwise. She was the leader because she was the most calm. She was the most able to fulfill her master's wishes.

She didn't, however, join her companions in their quest for pages in the Book this night. Her master had other plans.

"Don't you want me?" His voice was grating. Harsh.

She turned her head to regard him. "You're the master."

* * *

_Did you get enough pages?_

_We're still short._

_Ugh. The master is going to –_

_The master will do as he pleases._

_Of course; he's the master. I just –_

_Are you questioning?_

_No. I am –_

_Enough. If it happens, it happens._

…_It's our duty._

_Yes, it is._

…_Only to do it again once he can't handle it either._

_That has nothing to do with us.  
_

* * *

Vita tried to catch her breath, but her adversary didn't give her the opportunity. She was forced to parry the blows aside; she couldn't hold against the strength of the blow for more than the moments that were absolutely necessary. Even Graf Eisen was showing signs of strain; she had bitten off more than she could chew again, and this time Shamal wouldn't be around to save her from her own decision. She gritted her teeth. There was nothing for it but to win despite her mistake.

"Graf Eisen!"

"**Jawohl! **_**Schwalbe Flieger!**_"

One of her spheres appeared in her hand and she tossed it out to the side enough for her subsequent swing to connect and make the sphere shoot right underneath the armpit of her adversary. He took on a mocking grin. "You missed!" A cry from behind him made him look around at his comrade, who had been struck dead center in the chest by the projectile. "Wha-"

He wasn't looking, so he couldn't say any more when Graf Eisen ended his consciousness instantly. Before Vita was even done with the swing, however, she was struck hard from behind, launching her forcefully into the ground below.

"You can't underestimate them!" her attacker called out before sighing. "Not that you can hear me." He wiped his brow. "Well, we actually took one of them down; if we have to hope that they all will make a similar mistake at some point in or- guh!" Vita couldn't see, but there was only one thing that could cause a mage to make that sound, and she was glad to hear it. She struggled to rise, but found that she couldn't. She felt herself being lifted from the ground.

"Are you alright?" Her leader's voice was clipped, as usual.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"You know what you did," Signum cut her off. "I've already given you the lecture. It seems that you needed another reminder of what happens when you do this." Though her words were harsh, her tone was as flat as it ever was. This was no consolation to Vita, however, as she knew that Signum was extremely upset with her. She decided that it would be smarter for her own health to not say any more and just let the other Knight take her back to their base of operations.

* * *

_You take on too many responsibilities._

_It's my job._

_Just because you're our leader…_

_We all take on more than we should. You're no different than I._

_We're all doing our job, and-_

_And you show the strain of it._

_You don't. That worries us; we know what it does to you, but you never show anything._

…_This coming from you?_

_I show emotion more than you do._

_There's no need to worry about me. I will be fine.  


* * *

_

"That's it," Signum stated. "The book is again full."

Vita had her arms crossed. She shifted her weight. "We get to find out whether this one can manage it."

"Don't count on it," Zafira said from his position across the alleyway.

"We can hope. This one hasn't… this one hasn't done anything bad to us. Might even like us a little bit." Vita was still fidgeting. "I'd much prefer this master over any of the others we've had."

"It's true," Zafira agreed. Vita nodded her head in assent, while Signum merely looked on with a neutral expression. "Serving any of these masters is our duty, but this one made it less like a chore, and more like… more like it's supposed to be."

"Do any of you remember how that even is?" Shamal asked, her voice low.

Zafira and Vita shook their heads; Signum closed her eyes. "We don't need to remember it directly," Signum said. "We'll know it when we see it."

"What if we don't?" Shamal insisted. "What if this is the best possible master for us? If he doesn't succeed, then we're all… we're all…"

"Then we wait until there's another like him," Zafira said. "And make sure he succeeds."

"But we-" Shamal started, but Signum cut her off.

"He is not the one we're waiting for." The others looked at her in askance. "Listen to yourselves. He's 'less like a chore' and 'hasn't done anything bad to us'. I refuse to accept that this is the best possible we get. He won't succeed, and we will get someone who will actually deserve positive statements from us. We will settle for nothing less; we are Belkan Knights. We serve the master, but a true master of the Book will be worthy of the title. Speak no more on this…" she trailed off a bit. "At least until we are reunited within once again."

There were nods all around before they returned to their master to inform him that their task was complete.

* * *

_You were always the one that was the most focused on your duty._

_I have been a Belkan Knight for longer than anyone._

_Especially now; we've been caught here for long enough for empires to rise and fall; for generations to fly by._

_Not that it matters to you._

_No, but it should matter to you more than it seems to._

…

_Why don't you admit it when you aren't well?_

_I have to be strong. Someone has to be strong; it should be me._

_You don't have to be strong all the time._

_My strength is how I go on. And I must go on._


	6. Beginnings

"It's about to start," she said quietly. "We are about to be awoken."

"It starts again," Vita said, not managing to keep all of the bitterness out of her voice. "It starts all over again."

"It will likely be better this time," Shamal pointed out.

"It would be hard not to be," Zafira stated.

"What can you sense about our new master?" Signum asked.

The figure that looked like a woman with flowing white hair turned to regard the leader of the Wolkenritter before she answered. "I can sense that her age is somewhere in the forties."

Zafira looked somewhat surprised. "Her? That's rare."

"She'll fade into the rest in the end," Vita said dismissively. "Like all of the memories of our masters before her."

"Perhaps… perhaps not…" the pale-haired one said, her eyes closed. "Do give her the benefit of the doubt before you judge her."

Vita snorted. "If she does to me."

"Vita," Shamal chastised mildly. "Respect the master. You may disrespect her when she is no longer your master, as you always have done."

Vita _tsked_. "Fine."

"Prepare, everyone," Signum said. The light was growing around them. A pink light was growing around her, with red around Vita, green around Shamal, and white around Zafira. "We are being called by the Book." In a mere moment more, they were gone. The light was fading, and all that was left in the space between was the white-haired woman with the red eyes.

"They've forgotten my name again…"

* * *

Beginnings

* * *

"**Anfangen**."

A brighter flash of light engulfed the Wolkenritter as they were transported. They quickly knelt toward where they knew their new master would be, arrayed in their usual formation when their master had not given them one. The Book itself floated to Shamal's possession, as it always had right after completing the startup.

"Confirmed startup of the Book of Darkness," Signum said once they had all reached the position and had fully materialized in the world of their master.

"We are the guardian knights who will gather for the Book of Darkness, and protect its master," Shamal continued.

"Clouds that gather under the master of the night sky," Zafira added.

"The Wolkenritter… awaits your command," Vita finished.

None of the Knights looked up. The silence was stretching on. Finally, Vita spared a glance up at their new master. Their companion had been right; she was a magician in her late forties, wearing flowing dark brown robes. Vita quickly flicked her eyes back down to the floor before she was caught looking up. The woman was obviously surveying them.

It was only a moment after Vita had returned her gaze to where it should be that the master spoke. "Only one of you is male?" She humphed. "This might not be as odious a task as I thought."

Zafira managed to not make a sound. Vita saw his hand clench briefly.

"Rise and call your Devices," she commanded. Immediately the Wolkenritter complied. Signum stood and held Laevatein across her body, supporting the edge of the blade with her off hand. Shamal held her hands out in front of her with Klarer Wind arrayed on her fingers. Vita held Graf Eisen over her shoulder. Zafira merely stood up.

"And your Barrier Jackets?" the master asked.

"Our Knight's Armor is formed by you, Master," Signum said.

The master raised her eyebrows. "So be it. I'll worry about that later." She stepped up to Signum. "You first, then. You're a melee specialist, yes?"

"I am good with melee and short range, though I also have a few long range attacks. I'm not strictly a melee specialist, though I work well at that range," Signum responded.

"Who is…" the Master trailed off as she spotted Vita with the hammer over her shoulder. She looked back at Signum. "The girl's your melee specialist?"

"Yes."

The master walked over to Vita and checked out her device. "You're the melee specialist," she repeated under her breath. Vita kept her face schooled, but the other Wolkenritter all noticed that the hand that was once limp at her side was now clenched in a fist. The master's face was disbelieving. "Well I guess that'll just play out the way it will," the master said, apparently to herself. She then turned to Zafira. "And a familiar. Wolf, yes?"

"Guardian Beast. And yes."

She looked up at him from where she had been inspecting his form. "I know what Belkans called you. I will call you what I wish, yes?"

"You're the master."

She seemed satisfied with her inspections so far, though none of the Wolkenritter were quite sure what she had been doing. Signum only knew that she had been using magic on each of them, but she wasn't sure as to what it was. The Master was now moving to stand in front of Shamal, the only Knight that she hadn't yet inspected. "And you must be the support, yes?" she said.

"Yes, master, I perform the support functions for the Knights. You do not need to worry about them. You just give us orders and expect them to be carried out. I'll handle any logistical issues and make it work."

The master made a mild noise of approval. "So you are. Alright. Change into your Barrier Jackets now, I think I have them the way I want them." They complied. Each of them was in dark brown armor with a sunburst in their own personal color over the left breast. Pink for Signum, green for Shamal, blue for Zafira and red for Vita. The armor was featureless, being designed entirely for function and not for style.

"Is there anything that would prevent you from going out and collecting pages for the Book of Darkness right now?" the master asked Signum.

"No."

"Then go. Go to this dimension." She handed Signum a piece of paper with a set of spatial coordinates on it. "Dodge human contact. I don't want the Bureau to know that there's a new owner of the Book yet. There should be plenty of things with Linker Cores there. That's all you need in order to collect pages, right?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good," she said. "Don't lead any mages who may find you back here. Dismissed." The Wolkenritter left the room quickly, gathering in an adjacent room, where Signum handed Shamal the piece of paper that the Master had given her, and Shamal began to cast the dimensional transport.

"What's the plan of action?" Vita asked.

"We split up," Signum replied. "Shamal and Zafira will take the Book. Vita and I will each be alone. Call Shamal when you need the Book for collection purposes. We shouldn't have any trouble with animals or monsters, even if they have linker cores." There were nods all around. Shamal completed the casting, and the green light engulfed them, taking them away from their master.

* * *

"_I am the Administration Program," she said quietly. "I have the power to affect basic things about the Tome if you command me to."_

"_What about getting me out of here?"_

"_I… that is impossible while the Automated Defense Program is active."_

"_That isn't what I meant to do." This master's tone was angry at this pronouncement. "I meant to cast a spell to wipe out those Bureau idiots for messing with me."_

"_The Automated Defense Program will fulfill your wish, I assure you."_

"_And then I can get out of here?"_

"_If the Defense Program has not yet gone out of control, yes."_

"…_Gone out of control?"_

"_I – that is, the Book – am flawed. I was once edited by someone who wished to change my nature. In so doing, the Automated Defense Program got… corrupted. If she fights for too long, she loses the ability to control herself or turn herself off. I also lost the ability to turn her off from here."_

"_Her? She's like one of the Knights? _Is_ she one of the Knights?"_

"_No. She was with me since the beginning."_

"_And there's nothing you can do." It wasn't a question._

"_I'm sorry, Master. I can give you a dream that you will dream for eternity, if I am unable to get you released from this safe place."_

_He sighed. "I guess that's something, then."_

_The Administration Program made a face. "I am sorry, my master."_

* * *

  
They had arrived in the middle of a large forest. Immediately they took battle positions in a perfect square facing outward. A soft breeze floated beneath the eaves, and the Wolkenritter relaxed.

"I can sense lots of Linker Cores here," Vita said. "But I can't see any."

Zafira was looking up at the forest's canopy. "Is it possible for a plant to have a Linker Core?"

"I would have said no," Shamal said, as she leaned closer to one of the tree trunks. "But I think I'm revising that opinion now. I'm sure I sense one within th- ahh!" she cut off with a scream as a vine whipped down and grabbed her around the ankle and lifted her high into the air.

"Laevatein!"

"**Schlangenform!**"

"Eisen!"

"**Zerstörungform!**"

The long flexible snake form of Laevatein sliced right through the vine that held Shamal, causing her to fall some distance, but Zafira was ready and caught her long before she was in any real danger.

"**Schwertform!**"

Vita charged the trunk and cried out with the effort as she swung Graf Eisen, now about as big as the trunk was thick. The drill end struck true in the center of one of the sides of the trunk and Vita pushed through mercilessly. The tree was felled; it fell away from the Wolkenritter, leaving silence after the loud yet muffled _thunk_ of the trunk striking the forest floor. From the stump rose a small point of light.

"That may have been overkill," Zafira said after he had returned Shamal to the ground.

"Shut up," Vita said calmly.

Shamal stepped forward with the Book and opened it toward the point of light. "Linker Core, captured. Begin assimilation."

"**Sammlung.**"

A page filled with writing, and then the Book shut with finality that only it could summon.

Vita glared, though not at anything in particular. "_One page?_"

Zafira looked similarly unimpressed. "These are the Linker Cores she was speaking of?"

"Orders are orders," Shamal reminded them. "Even if I would have liked some warning that we needed to watch for hostile plants."

"She'd better not be expecting us to get all of the pages from these… these… _green pieces of-_"

"Vita."

"I don't want to do that six-hundred-sixty-five more times!"

"You won't have to," Signum asserted. "Only three-hundred-thirty-two."

"Two-hundred-twenty-one," Zafira said.

Vita was silent for a moment. "Well, if I'm going to get that many, then I should probably start now." She looked at Signum and Zafira, then after a moment, Shamal. "You guys too."

"As soon as you're tired, call everyone and we'll meet back here." After receiving the positive responses, Signum readied her sword. "Let's do this, Laevatein."

"**Jawohl!**"

* * *

_I think I may be jealous._

_Why? You don't have to do any work most of the time._

_You get to meet all the masters. I only meet the ones who make it this far._

_You're really not missing anything if they can't make it this far._

_I… I feel a little left out._

_Oh… We don't…_

_Of course you don't mean to. It's not something that's your fault. Or even something you can change. I'm sorry I brought it up._

_If it's something that you're worried about, you shouldn't be afraid to bring it up._

…_Thank you._

_Just make sure to save the master that actually manages to master us all._


	7. Discovery

It seemed that Signum was the last one to give up, as the rest of the Wolkenritter were waiting for her in the clearing by the original stump. Immediately upon seeing her, Vita rose and crossed the clearing towards her. "How many?"

"One hundred four," Signum answered her.

"Damn it," Vita groused. "Not only do they only give a little less than a page each, there also aren't all that many of them in this forest!" She kicked the stump of the tree that had captured Shamal. Her face betrayed nothing, though she turned and sat on the stump huffily, favoring the foot she used.

"Do you think we got all of them?" Zafira asked.

"All the ones that it's possible to sense from here," Shamal confirmed. "I think they had been dying out to begin with."

"We'll just have to report that there aren't any more of them to Master. She'll give us new orders." Shamal walked into the center of the clearing, and the rest followed her before getting into the formation they used when they travelled the dimensions. "Is anyone… does anyone need rest?" Signum asked, stalling Shamal from starting the transfer process.

Zafira's eyes flashed. Vita huffed. Shamal sighed. "At least a little bit," Shamal said. "We've been out here for more than nine hours now."

Signum nodded. "It would be best if we rested. If we have to collect pages from anything other than _trees-_" the emphasis on the word was soft, but it was definite- "then we'd serve our master better at full strength."

Vita blew out a noisy sigh. "Fine." Zafira and Shamal merely nodded.

"Alright. Shamal, if you please."

* * *

Discovery

_

* * *

This is more like it,_ Vita remarked. She was standing on one of the many flat roofs in that part of the city that she had been assigned. She was in her Knight's Armor, which had been created by her master. Her eyes were closed on the gorgeous sight of the nighttime cityscape and all of its myriad sights.

_Focus,_ came the response. Signum could pack so much into a single word. Vita even felt mildly chastised, though she pushed the feeling away.

_I sense one I think I can take quickly enough,_ Zafira interjected, possibly unaware of the short conversation between his companions. _I'll report when I need the Book._

_Fight with the Saint's blessing,_ Shamal said, and they all felt Zafira's presence in the link fade to idle. The link between them was always there, though they could dismiss it to a degree that they didn't have to think about it when they needed to focus on something else and not be disturbed. If any of the rest of them wanted to reach Zafira now, all they had to do was send a particularly strong jolt with their message, and he would get it. Though they would risk having him get it at an… inopportune time.

_I've got one,_ Signum said. She said no more, and immediately faded from the link.

_Fight with the Saint's blessing,_ Shamal said anyway, though only Vita could hear her.

_We will,_ Vita said along the link, as she homed in on a possible candidate for her own target. _This is the easy part. Nobody's expecting us now._ Aha! A perfect candidate. _I've got one too. Keep alert, Shamal._

_Fight with the Saint's blessing._

Vita opened her eyes, mostly to roll them, though Shamal couldn't see this. Vita let her own presence in the link fade as she focused her magical senses on the Linker Core that she had identified. It was in an alley two blocks away from the building that Vita was on, and all alone. She jumped down from the building into an alley on one side, using her flight ability to slow her descent to something manageable. Her Master had been blessed with enough foresight to make their armor look somewhat in place in the city that she had sent them to in order to collect more pages. Vita could walk among the few people that were out this late at night and not be thought of as more than merely eccentric. Flying around would have been too much, however, so she kept her penchant for high places to herself as best she could.

She walked out from the alley onto the street with no one the wiser as to where she had come from. The one person visible from where she stood didn't even look at her. Vita similarly paid the man no mind as she turned the other direction in order to follow the Linker Core that she sensed. He was still in the alley, hadn't even moved an inch since Vita had identified him as her next target. She quickly and quietly walked to the entrance of the alley in question, meeting only two other people. Both of those others were drunk, and could be ignored even more safely than the one that had ignored Vita.

As Vita turned the corner and walked into the alley, she found that her target was male and facing the other direction. She called Graf Eisen to her hand from his idle form. She felt her barrier lock in place and instantly charged the man, who stiffened as he also felt the barrier fall into place. He turned quickly. Quickly enough that his Device managed an Auto-Guard on Vita's initial strike.

"**Protection**." Graf Eisen met a blue shield and couldn't break through it with such a simple strike, though only a simple strike had the shot of not dealing with the Auto-Guard in the first place. Vita gritted her teeth. _Hard way. Dammit. _She sprang back from the stalemate.

"Graf Eisen!"

"**Jawohl! Schwalbe Fleigen!**" She tossed up the steel ball and struck true with Eisen's face. The ball was met by a shield that the man was casting himself. Vita used his distraction to jump (aided by her flight) over him and fall in with another strike. But she met another shield. The man was trying to hold up two shields at once, and Vita could tell that he couldn't do it for very long. So she pushed on.

"Graf Eisen! Push through it!"

"**Jawohl!**" She controlled the steel ball for a moment, pulling it back and then attacking again at a slightly different angle just as she pushed harder on her own side. Predictably, the man redoubled his efforts at the Knight's side while he let the ball smack his Barrier Jacket in the back. This threw him off balance, and Vita saw his face twisted in confusion right before she broke through her own side and knocked him out with a blow to the chin.

She swung Graf Eisen down and to the side, letting her steel ball disappear as she reconnected to her link to the rest of the Wolkenritter. _I'm done. Probably two or three pages._

_I'm on my way,_ she got from Shamal. _Signum got four pages. Zafira hasn't reported back yet._

Vita only grinned. _This is so much faster_.

* * *

_How many pages have we collected now?_

_Three hundred ninety-six._

_Has the master given us a new assignment for tomorrow?_

_No. We're to change cities again, but the plan is the same._

_So she doesn't mind if we get discovered now by… whoever she's afraid of._

_Perhaps. We do seem to be following a predictable pattern now._

_Do you remember anything about them?_

_Not really. I remember that in the last several cycles we've met organized resistance, but…_

_Yeah. I don't remember much about them either._

_Stay on your toes, then. We're not to be caught._

_We won't be.  


* * *

_

"George! George!"

George looked up from his desk, where he had been working on paperwork from his last assignment on a world. He blinked suddenly and found that he had to rub his eyes. He needed to take a break, and whatever Paige was calling his name about would probably do. "In here!" he called. He leaned back in his chair and dismissed the screen so that he wouldn't be looking at it while he took his 'break'.

Paige, a pretty young woman of about twenty, spun around the corner into the lab. It was her domain, really, though she often let George or Tanya do any reports they needed to in her lab. It was odd to have her charge up to him from somewhere else while he was working there. Normally it was the other way around. "There you are! Tanya's getting an assignment from the Admiral right now. I think we're going to be investigating something soon!"

George raised his eyebrows. "We just finished that thing on Unadministered Twenty…"

Paige waved her hand dismissively. "No, no. That thing was easy; just tell idiots that they're idiots, have them attack us and we… well, you and Tanya… defeat them and bring them into custody. No, this time we have a _mystery_!"

George sighed and stretched. His paperwork could wait. "You're far too excited about having something to solve."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "And you're far too blasé," she accused. "You're never all that excited when we actually get to do something fun."

"As enjoyable as it is to watch the two of you go at it, I think you'd like to hear what's going on?" Tanya was in the doorway with a smirk on her face. Tanya had been an Enforcer in the Bureau for nearly twenty years, but she still looked like she was Paige's age. She had the same hair color as the younger girl, though she kept it cropped short, while Paige preferred hers in a long braid.

Paige turned around and squealed. George winced. "Oh! Yes, of course we do! What are we going to be doing, Tanya?" Paige asked.

"We're to investigate some mysterious disappearances. Apparently some of the regular mage patrols on Tyr have been attacked while out on their patrols. None of them remember enough about their attackers to give them any sort of lead as to what their attackers look like. All of them – that lived, anyway - are in the Hospital with various levels of magical exhaustion."

George tilted his head to one side. "Do we have any ideas?"

"They didn't have a clue," Tanya said, "and I have too many floating around. We're on our way to Tyr right now in order to talk to the attacked and perhaps catch the attackers in the act."

Paige clapped her hands together. "I'll take a look at your Devices! And then I'll prep the sensors for noting magical spikes on the world below… Oh! I can't _wait!_" And then she was off among her instruments and the two Devices that were kept there.

George gave a long-suffering look to Tanya. "How much time?"

"Six hours," Tanya replied. "You should get some shut-eye; you look awful."

George grumbled as Tanya left the room and Paige squealed again.

* * *

_We failed the master that time._

_No, the master failed himself. It was his fault that those mages caught you and destroyed the Book._

_We should have been able to stop it._

_Zafira, there are things that even you Knights can't do._

_It's not a question of what we can and can't do. It's a question of what we should and should not be able to do._

_No, Zafira. We can't save the master from their own mistakes. It requires more free will than they allow us._

_Do you think the master that finally masters us will be able to get around that?_

_I think the master that masters us will be the right master._


	8. Skirmish

Zafira was the one who was guarding the Master's residence when both he and the Master sensed the disturbance at the same time. Both looked up and towards the front of the building. The master had set up in an apartment complex in a dense residential section of the largest city on Tyr. None of the Wolkenritter had questioned the choice. Shamal had set up some extra internal defenses, while making sure that her spells did not affect those of their master, but otherwise they had done nothing about the Master's choice for a base of operations.

It was Shamal's wards that had been tripped: someone had attempted to scry inside the confines of the apartment.

"What was that?" the Master asked Zafira harshly.

"Someone just attempted to scry..."

"No, I know that much," the Master interrupted, causing Zafira to stop talking. "I mean the alarm that went off. I didn't set that. Mine was more subtle. Wouldn't have notified them that their attempt had failed."

Zafira looked back at her mildly. "That one notified all of the Wolkenritter. They're disengaging from any battle they might be in, in case you need us."

The Master glared at Zafira. "I didn't authorize any additional ward spells."

"We felt..."

"I do not _care_ what you _felt_!" the Master snapped. "Now I have to pick up and move earlier than planned, because you did something I did not authorize!" She swirled aboutface and walked out of the room, leaving one last barb. "You are not to use any magic I do not ask you specifically to use!" The door slammed. Zafira cringed. Slightly.

* * *

Skirmish

* * *

Tanya could barely control her fury. George could always tell when she was agitated, and she was having serious trouble keeping her emotions off of her face after that last meeting.

"They'll be gone, you know," she muttered irritably, to no one in particular. "The _first_ thing these kinds of people do is ward their base so that they know when someone is scrying them!"

George knew from experience that he would remain in better health if he did not say anything and let the Enforcer seethe. He did have an idea, though, and the idea would only have merit if he jumped on it now. "Starfall, open a channel to Paige's Lab, please."

"**I shall obey.**"

Ignoring the glare he knew he had thoroughly earned, George instead watched as the screen materialized in front of him. Starfall emitted a chime when she was done with the connection, and shortly afterward, Paige's face appeared on the screen. "How did it go?" she asked immediately.

"Not well," George said. Tanya echoed him in stronger terms, but he pressed on anyway. "Can you attempt to trace any significant travel magic at the coordinates I give you on Tyr?"

"Of course," Paige replied, typing speedily away on her console. "Just let me... alright. Where?"

"B4D6 6478E 3AA DA781," George read off from the helpful notes that he had taken during the meeting. "Give a... sixty meter radius?"

"Alright, I'll let you know if I get any significant readings from the trace."

"Thank you, Paige. Close the link, Starfall."

"**I shall obey.**" The display screen closed with a quiet sound.

George chanced a look at Tanya, and to his relief he found that she was not looking completely angry anymore. Just mildly irritated. "I'm sorry-"

"No, that was a good idea. If there's anything that can save the work we've done so far, it was that." Tanya sighed gustily, shaking her head. "It's a wonder they ask for TSAB help when they rarely, if ever, listen to us."

"Any further thoughts as to what's going on?" George asked.

"Yes. I want to be absolutely sure before I share, though. While all of the autopsies are indicating similar causes of death, there're still a couple other possibilities other than my theory."

George shook his head. "I'll never understand why you like to keep your theories to yourself until you're completely sure."

"I told you before, George. I don't want to affect any theories that _you_ are forming on the subject," Tanya replied. They had exited the building onto the roof now.

"Starfall, transfer us to the ship, please."

"**I shall obey.**"

"That might be helpful if I ever came up with any theories," George continued as Starfall began to make the dimensional connection. "I'm completely lost as to how this case is anything more than some whacko running around with a Lost Logia he doesn't understand."

Tanya gave him a wry grin just as they began to teleport. "Your silly head! It's always more complicated than that when Lost Logia are involved." They disappeared, leaving only the soft breeze of the late summer afternoon.

* * *

It was a quiet scene. In a small copse of trees a few miles outside of one of the major cities were three figures that were completely still. The small trees and brush around them waved in the afternoon breeze, but the figures were far too tense to let the breeze ruffle more than the loose strands of their hair. Signum stood facing roughly west with her eyes shut. Shamal and Vita were in similar positions, putting them in a rough triangle formation facing outward.

Signum opened her eyes when Zafira arrived. He appeared in a flash of light and the drawing of the Belkan Symbol. Shamal also turned toward him, while Vita continued to sense for any more arrivals.

"The master has moved to the new location," Zafira said. "I just finished breaking down all of the old defenses."

Signum nodded. "Then we should separate and direct transfer ourselves in from as far away from here as possible. Is the master going to remain there for the time being?"

Zafira shook his head. "No, the master told me where it was and said that there were things that she had to procure from elsewhere. She did not indicate when she would be back."

"Then give us the coordinates of where we will be meeting before we separate."

Before Zafira could open his mouth to reply, Vita's eyes suddenly opened. "No. Not here and not now." After only a moment, the others could sense it too, and all four heads turned toward the side of the clearing where a flash of light appeared, this time accompanied by the Mid-Childan Symbol. Vita made a face for a moment, but schooled it before the figure fully materialized.

Shamal had already created the barrier, and the rest of them felt it snap into place when the female figure fully appeared. She was a brunette, with her hair coming to her chin and fierce eyes. She was obviously in her… _Barrier Jacket_… and held a Device in her hands that was shaped like spear. Her eyes flicked around as she assessed the situation that she had transferred herself into. Then her eyes locked on Signum's. "I am TSAB Enforcer Tanya Falheim. I don't imagine you'd be willing to come back with me to answer a few questions about some events that have to do with the place that your…" She looked at Zafira. "…friend just vacated."

_I remember now! I remember these people!_

_Not now, Vita._ Signum rebuked. Aloud, she said, "We have no need to follow your orders."

There was a flicker of emotion on the Enforcer's face, but she returned to the fierce expression quickly. "That's why it was phrased as a request. We could talk here instead, if you'd like."

"We will be doing no such thing," Signum asserted. _Take her._

Zafira was the first one to launch at the Enforcer, who easily parried his attack aside with her Device. This left her open to an attack coming from Vita, who swung Graf Eisen into the opening with great speed.

"_**Protection**_**.**" The Auto-Guard of the Device activated in time, though the attack ended up pushing the Enforcer back a couple steps. She spun with the momentum, bringing her Device to bear on Shamal. "_**Flamethrower**_**,**" the Device called out, and flames rocketed from the spear's tip. Signum interposed herself between the two.

"_**Panzer Hindernis**_**!**"

Vita came in from one side while Zafira came from above, both managing to strike through the little bit of power that the Enforcer could pour into the shield. The attack stopped as she was lifted from her feet and thrown into one of the trees, which cracked at the impact. She slid down. Her Barrier Jacket had been broken through, and some of the undergarments were showing. Vita stepped forward, the Book called to her hands. Tanya's eyes opened slowly, but they widened when she saw what the smallest Knight was holding.

It was at that moment that the slight grey tinge that the world took on when under a barrier faded out. A massive attack was fading from the sky, though the barrier had prevented the attack from being seen initially. All five in the copse looked up to see a man who looked to be about the same age as the Enforcer with his Device trained on Signum and Shamal. He was backed up by twenty soldiers with various smaller devices.

"Stand down instantly," he said, his voice carrying. "I am George Devin of the TSAB Enforcers and you are under arrest for attacking an Officer of the TSAB."

Signum frowned. _Regroup offworld._

_Which?_ was Zafira's question.

_The living trees. Go._ All four immediately broke off to fly away from the copse, leaving the prone form of the Enforcer that had found them.

George cursed. "Paige!"

_I'm on it._

He quickly rounded on the corps. "Pick one and follow them! Do your best to trace where they transfer to and get that information to Paige as soon as possible! Do not engage the enemy!"

"Yessir!"

He flew down and alighted next to Tanya. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am," she confirmed, rising unsteadily. George reached out and caught her arm, but she shook him off. "It does confirm my theory, though."

George's eyebrows rose.

"We need to get back. Tell the Admiral that we'll be needing backup here. We're dealing with the Book of Darkness again."

* * *

_Are we clear?_

_Yes. There's no sign of any trace._

_That was too close._

_We can't keep moving like this. We need to complete the book before they capture us again. How many pages are left?_

_Ninety-nine._

_Then we have to move faster. Tell Signum, Zafira. We should be able to finish before they regroup themselves and find us again. We just have to hurry._

_I will, Shamal._


	9. Weary

_You managed to call me far more quickly than I was expecting._

_It's not often that you attach that priority flag to your messages. You caused quite a stir._

_I just need your help. How soon can you get here?_

_Just short of twenty-four hours after we're underway. Just waiting on our own outfitting of the Arc-en-ciel. ...Lotte tells me it'll be four more hours._

_That's a lot of time. We think they're almost finished._

_You already have the Arc-en-Ciel on the _Hestia_, do you not?_

_Yes..._

_Then you can use it if we cannot come to support you in time._

_It's too powerful._

_If you have no choice, then you must use it. Better that than lose an entire Administered Planet._

_I don't have to like it._

_No, you don't, Admiral Harlaown. Why do you think I respect you so?  


* * *

_

Weary

* * *

"**Sammlung**." The Book of Darkness began to fill with writing, as it always did. Signum, however, remained alert and aware. Something was coming, and it was possible that she would have to cut this collection off early. She ignored the quiet futile protestations of the mage she was collecting from. He was no longer any threat. The threat was coming from… above.

"_**Meteorite Rain!**_"

"Laevatein," she said.

"_**Panzer Geist!**_" The reinforcement to her Knight's Armor came just in time for the energy blast to splash against the back of her head. The Book closed with a thump and floated back down to her free hand. Signum caught it and let the unconscious mage fall to the ground as she looked up at her adversary.

It was the male Enforcer from before. Signum frowned. _The Enforcer has found me, _she sent to the rest of the Wolkenritter. _I may require assistance._

"You are under arrest," the Enforcer… Devin?... stated. "Starfall!"

"**I shall obey. **_**Strike Mode**_." The Device in his hand transformed from a long pole with an obvious firing mechanism on the end into a much longer pole that resembled a halberd.

"Laevatein, Cartridge Load."

"_**Explosion!**_"

"_Shiden Issen!_" Signum launched up toward the Enforcer and slashed up through where he…used to be.

"_Heavenly Blow!_" The Enforcer's blade came from above and behind. Signum spun in midair to catch his attack on the sword's blade. She managed to deflect the attack away from her body easily, and even caused some damage to the Enforcer's weapon. The Enforcer disengaged and landed on the nearby rooftop.

"_**Restore**_." After being bathed in a white glow, the Device looked as if it hadn't been struck at all, but the man looked at Signum slightly differently.

Signum began looking for an opportunity to escape. She had been working for too long to deal with a mage on the caliber of Enforcer. This was a good sign that it was time to return to where Shamal was waiting to rest.

_Signum? Status._

_I am preparing to escape. A distraction would help._

_Vita is closer._

_Twenty seconds inbound. West-ish._

_Got it._

Signum remained on the defensive and feigned that she was feeling out his offensive capabilities. The Enforcer was cautious in his probes of her defenses, which both served and hindered Signum's purpose. She deflected blows in all directions, working him so that his back would face the west at the proper time…

The steel ball struck his back squarely, and his eyes widened. The Barrier Jacket absorbed most of the blow, but he was surprised and shocked. Signum disengaged instantly and managed to get far enough away from him to transfer before he recovered.

_I'm away. Meet back. We all need to rest._

_Roger._

_Alright.  


* * *

_

_It's almost your turn._

_I know. I don't really want to._

_There's no choice involved._

_I will go crazy again. And destroy everything. Again._

_Only if this isn't the right Master._

_And you think it is?_

…_No._

_So I don't want to… but I know that I must._

_Because if you don't…_

_If I don't, then we'll never find the right Master._

_Ne…_

_Hmm?_

_If you can… can you save me too?_

_If one of us survives, the other does._

_The other four come first, though._

_Right.  


* * *

_

When Signum arrived at the new base of operations, Shamal noticed that there was a slight hitch in her step. "You were injured," she said, bustling over to the taller Knight. "What was it?"

Signum stopped walking, shifting her weight slightly so that it was on her right leg. "Left calf." Signum did not watch as Shamal lifted the fabric, nor did she react when the part of the fabric that stuck to her wound was removed. "Magical shot attack. I was... fatigued." She watched Vita and Zafira enter the room in similar states.

Shamal glanced up at the two new arrivals and scowled. "You better have made significant progress, then."

"We did," Zafira said quietly. Both Vita and Zafira were covered with minor wounds to the point that Shamal couldn't just take one look and determine where their major ones were. It was only from the stiff way that they walked that she could tell that they had more than a few cuts and scrapes.

"Thirty-eight," Vita said. "We're very close." She slid down into a sitting position against the wall.

Shamal's head snapped up, but she didn't say anything. Her hand paused over Signum's wound, she bit her lip in consternation.

"We know," was all Signum said.

Shamal shook her head to clear it and continued to treat Signum's wound. "Are you going straight back out once I'm finished with you?"

Signum made a negative sound. "We'll need a few hours' rest before we can be efficient again."

Even Vita didn't object at this proclamation; Shamal found her worry rising. She didn't say anything aloud, however, trying to be quick with her ministrations on Signum's wounds. Just the ones that Signum was willing to reveal to her, though. Shamal had no doubt that there were ones that Signum wouldn't show her. Stubborn.

"Alright, I think that will be alright for you for now," Shamal said aloud as she rose. She walked over to Vita. "Let's take a look at you next."

Neither Vita nor Zafira really commented or reacted to Shamal's work. All of them were exhausted, and Shamal figured that they had already begun to rest so as to return to the field as soon as possible. Once she had all of them resting in a more traditional sense, she sighed. This was the most dangerous time; when they were close enough to taste victory, but not… quite… there… and they could be…

She shook her head again lightly and closed her eyes to do a routine check of her Master's wards. She knew that Klarer Wind was not glowing due to her effort, but due to her distress. The simple act of magic soothed her, and Klarer Wind slowly faded its glow, as if it knew that Shamal would not be truly okay until the Book was completed. When Shamal opened her eyes, she found that the Master had returned. Shamal bowed in greeting.

"So they're back," the Master said. "What's left?"

"There are thirty-eight pages left, Master," Shamal responded quietly.

The Master's eyebrows rose. "Oh really?" Then she attained a bit of a smile. It did not soothe Shamal's fears at all. "And how many pages are each of you?"

Shamal trembled in fear.

The Master's smile dropped quickly into a glare. "Fine, if you can't answer that quickly, answer me this: Is there enough power between the lot of you to fill the rest of the book?"

"…Yes." Shamal wasn't able to fully control the sob that came with her answer.

* * *

_...It's my very worst fear._

_It won't happen when we have the right Master… and everything is reset if the Master fails._

_What's to say that the _right_ Master will be the one that manages?_

…

_There's no guarantee that we'll have everything that we want out of a Master. There are no guarantees… not since we found out that the Book was flawed._

…

_We can't assume anything! We may not get the right Master at all! We-_

_Yes we will._

…_What?_

_I know it. And I must believe it._

…

_For without that, everything I am falls apart._


	10. Separation

It wasn't that Zafira suddenly appeared in a flash of light, or anything showy. One moment he was not present, and the next he was. There was no moment in which he was arriving, or in transit. He either was there or he wasn't, and that's all any of them could sense. He did look somewhat the worse for wear. As the concept of location was somewhat vague where they existed 'between', as was the concept of their well being… there was little to nothing that could be done about his condition. Nor should there have been.

The next to be present was Vita, who looked much the same way. Shamal followed her. There was a moment of expectation; a moment of something is coming… but then the moment had passed, and the presences inside the Book's dimension knew. Shamal continued her sobbing where she had left off to scream while she had still been not present. Zafira growled in the back of his throat as he stared at everything and nothing. Vita turned her head roughly to the side so that she was not facing any of the others.

_She_ merely closed her eyes.

_Even when you're not with us, we are with you. Good luck, Signum.  


* * *

_

Separation

* * *

The Book snapped shut as it finished collecting. The Master scowled at the one remaining servant. "One lousy page short. You couldn't have gotten just the one more page on _any_ of your little outings? Not that they were long enough by any means." She didn't seem to be looking for a response, so Signum remained silent and regarded the Master to watch for when she _did_ expect some sort of response or action from her. "And I need one of you around while I'm still getting used to my new powers… so I can't just take it from you right now."

Signum was having trouble staying on her feet, but she was managing to keep this fact from her Master. A part of her surmised that it was possible that her Master would take her Linker Core if she knew how weak she was at that moment, but it was not a guarantee. She would serve at her Master's will… may that will for her to serve end soon. It was just another cycle. Just another time through the cogs of time that would meld into the rest of them once she had moved on like the others. No, she mustn't think of them, not and remain…

SLAP!

A stinging pain on Signum's cheek alerted her that her Master had slapped her across the face. She had apparently let her mind wander, even as she had tried to prevent herself from doing so.

"That's what you get for leading them here!"

Or maybe her master hadn't been what Signum should have been paying attention to.

"This is the Time-Space Administration Bureau. We have you surrounded. Come out and lay down your devices. If you surrender, you will be accorded the ability to defend yourself against your charges." It was a booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"You can take them, right?" the Master asked.

"I do not know what kinds of forces and resources they are leveling against us. I thus do not know how I would fare against said forces and resources."

The Master was not pleased with this response. "They're practically breaking down the door! You must have _something_ that you can do to hold them off!" She didn't wait for an answer, instead attempting to start a Dimensional Transfer. Attempting futilely, as it turned out. "Damn it, they've blocked dimensional travel."

Signum wasn't surprised; they had managed to block dimensional travel in other encounters that the Wolkenritter had with them. Escape by flight was something of a best option more often than not. Sadly, her Master did not have the ability to fly… but…

"Master, I…"

"I do not want to hear your thoughts," came the snapped reply. Signum fell silent.

"If you do not comply, we will enter and subdue you by force! Last chance!"

"Cocky little-!" The Master groused, but she cut herself off. She snatched her deactivated Device from the chain that she had around her neck. "Fahrenheit, set up."

"**Yes'm.**"

The Barrier Jacket that she formed from Fahrenheit wasn't all that much different from the brown robes that she normally wore. They gained red and black trim and a hood, but that pretty much ended the list of differences. Signum looked on silently, waiting for orders.

"We'll break through their line," the Master said once her Barrier Jacket was fully formed. "Through the front entrance. That's the least expected-"

There was a loud bang as the front door was forced open, revealing a pair of soldiers with Storage Devices with more behind them. They charged into the room, meeting with Signum head on.

Signum made quick work of the first two soldiers as they attempted to charge past her. She didn't have the time to meditate on this victory, as more soldiers were rushing into the room, and among them was the female Enforcer. The male Enforcer was nowhere to be seen, yet. While a single slash from Laevatein was plenty for any of the regular soldiers, the Enforcer could easily keep up with Signum's attacks, and the soldiers could get past her with Signum engaged.

"Why are you letting them through?" Signum heard her Master screeching from behind her, but there was nothing else she could do. She had only defeated the Enforcer with the help of the other – She didn't have that option, now. A slash met with a deflecting parry, a thrust met with quickly moving air. The battle quickly became a dance of barely deflected doom. There were sounds of struggle in the other part of the room, but Signum could pay it no mind if she wanted to win her bout.

She had three cartridges remaining… not that they would be very useful after this if she was captured, but she had no way to make more. When the soldiers started to provide support to her opponent, she realized that it was now or never for any other resources she had to use. "Laevatein!"

"**Jawohl! **_**Schlangenform!**_" her Device responded loyally, spending and ejecting her antepenultimate cartridge. Signum swung her lengthened Device out, keeping the soldiers at bay and forcing her primary opponent to leap back. She damaged the walls of the room, but there was little doubt that she wouldn't be in it for very much longer… one way or another.

"_**Heavenly Blow!**_"

Signum spun, Levantine coming up and forming into the more defensive "_**Schwertform!**_" before meeting the attack of the male Enforcer as she had before. Over the man's shoulder, she saw her Master was unconscious and captured. It figured.

The man grunted with the effort of keeping his weapon locked with Signum's. "Your Master has been captured. It's over. Surrender."

"We won't hurt you or your Master if you stand down now," the female added from behind her, just far enough away to be out of reach.

Signum thought for a moment. Her duty required her action and inaction in certain situations. This was an easy determination… though not an easy thing to do. She broke the connection between her and the Enforcer before laying Laevatein on the ground as she knelt beside him. "I surrender."

* * *

_Just short._

_Some Masters would have attempted to call me anyway._

_The Book is usable at this point, though pages are spent as the power is released._

_So close. Too close to give up ground._

_So the Master has determined. But has she made the right decision?_

_Does it matter? In the end, the Book will devour her like it has every other who has been prideful enough to attempt to control it. Us._

_Our flaw._

_She'll even fade in our minds… leaving nothing left of her in the universe at all._

_This is a bad thing?_

_No. Not for this one.  


* * *

_

"Alright," the Admiral said. "keep me posted on anything you learn from either of them. Dismissed."

George and Tanya gave sharp salutes before turning around and leaving the bridge of the _Hestia_. The door shut behind them leaving them walking in the otherwise empty corridor. George was looking down at the floor in front of him, shaking his head. Tanya looked over at him. "What is it?" she asked him.

"I'm shocked, really," George said.

Tanya smiled at him. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It could only be a guess as to when we should go in. Admiral Harlaown made the right decision is all. Did you expect otherwise?"

"No," George said to his mentor. "Of course not. I just expected it to be harder... even with the backup squad from the other ship that made it." He shook his head. "You say she used the Book to absorb the other Knights that we fought the same way that they have been attacking the mages?"

"Yes," Tanya confirmed. "I'm not sure why she kept the last one, though, if she hadn't completed it from the others."

George gave Tanya a somewhat incredulous look. "You expect any of these weirdos to exhibit logic?"

Tanya gave a short bark of a laugh. "Perhaps not…"

"And you think it's enough to separate the two of them?"

Tanya shook her head. "I don't know. There aren't any records of successful captures of the Master before the Book is completed, so I don't know what will help and what won't. I'm going by my gut here, mostly."

George nodded. "Separate ships for each of them is the safest bet on that front, though… who knows what they can manage without each other."

Tanya nodded. "That's why we have the other ship's Enforcers keeping tabs on the Knight. The two of us are for the Master. Divide and conquer in case of any problems. Plus, soon enough we'll be escorted by a veritable fleet." She sighed. "We're taking any precaution that any of us can think of, but all of it may not be enough. We don't know what they can and can't do. We don't know whether any of our colleagues have even gotten this far in a case with the Book of Darkness. _We don't know_."

The pair descended the stairs that led to the lower levels of the ship. "We're going to have to be as vigilant as possible. We're not going to be able to predict what kind of trouble either of them may be able to cause us, but we _can_ try to be ready for anything." She opened the door that led to the brig, where precisely one cell was occupied.

Both Enforcers stopped as they found one of the soldiers that they had left with the Master of the Book of Darkness held up against the edge of the cell by… it seemed like the Master had her arm _through_ him. There was no time to react. There was no time to shout. The Book had materialized next to him and had opened to a single blank page, that filled with writing before the Book snapped shut a moment after the door had opened. The Master's greedy and giddy gaze slid over to the newcomers. "You're too late," she told them.

The body of the soldier fell, but the Book remained and faced its cover toward the prisoner. "**Guten morgen, Meister.**"

The Enforcers both began to draw their Devices out but the Master laughed at them. "Too late now! The Book is full and I have all the power that I need! All the power that I could possibly want now resides in this tome!" An explosion of a deep purple light caused the Enforcers to stop and flinch away. When they could see again, the Master was bathed in that light. Her tone suddenly took on a flat affect, which scared the Enforcers all the more.

"I am the Master of the Book of Darkness. Bring power to these hands of mine." The Book, which had disappeared in the purple explosion, appeared in her hand. "Seal, release."

George barely had the presence of mind to slap the alarm pad next to him.

* * *

_I am called._

_It is time, then. You must go and perform the duty that you are charged with._

_For as long as I can keep my mind._

_In the end, it is that loss that allows us to keep trying this._

_You want to be stuck in this rut? You want to experience this sadness over and over?_

_No. I want to experience happiness. Just once._

_So many times of sadness that none of us know any more how many times we've been through this… and you'll be satisfied with a single time of happiness?_

_Yes. That single time is worth it… especially if we can make it the last._

_It is not this time._

_No. But it may be the next._


	11. Flawed

There was a hole inside of her.

It wasn't a visible hole, nor a literal one. It was an… emptiness. It was an emptiness that was constantly with her. Something that she felt no matter what was going on around her. If it wasn't so uncomfortable, it would be comforting for its constant presence… something that Signum could not count on for any other aspect or feeling she had. And, as it was plain, this included the other Knights. Them being missing, however, seemed to increase the hole's size and impact on her psyche.

She didn't remember this happening before, though she knew that there had been other times that she had been separated from the other Knights in much the same way as this time. The hole had not, however, grown as a result… if she remembered the events correctly. Unfortunately, she likely didn't. It was a subject of much conversation among the Knights when they had the opportunity to discuss themselves: their memories, among the many other myriad things that were wrong with the Book of Darkness, were faulty.

But she could not discuss her discovery about the hole with her companions now. It made it all the worse that the reason the hole had changed was their absence. Something that Signum hated. Something that she had never wanted to experience again after the first time. She couldn't even remember the first time anymore… there were too many times in between. Too many times that she had been ripped away from one of her companions. Or vice versa. That all implied that the hole was something that Signum hated to not be with was absent at all times… made bigger when more things went missing.

She suddenly looked up, causing the soldiers standing guard to level their weapons at her, but she paid them no mind. _It's almost over now,_ she thought to herself. _The Book is complete_.

* * *

Flawed

* * *

Red lights flashed and alarms blared all throughout the _Hestia_, but neither Tanya nor George could answer the frantic calls from Paige to determine why the alarm pad in the brig had been activated. "I can't reach either of them, and I can't get a clear visual of the cell block!"

"Incoming hail from the remaining fleet, Admiral!" the on-bridge tech officer called out, preventing Admiral Harlaown from giving further instructions to Paige.

"Put him through, Thomas."

The face of the fleet's Admiral showed surprise and sudden worry when the screen illuminated with his features. "Clyde-kun?" he asked with obvious shock. He collected himself quickly, however. "What can we do?"

"We don't know what's going on yet," was his answer from Clyde Harlaown. "Paige! Keep trying! And send the squad down there with first instructions to report to us a status!"

"Yes, sir!"

Clyde turned back to the screen. "It's possible that my Enforcers found the Master trying something, but they haven't been answering calls."

"The alarm was triggered from the…"

"The cell block, yes, Admiral." Clyde nodded. "I don't know what we'll need yet, if anything…"

"I'll transfer a pair of Enforcers and a squad to your ship. Keep me posted on what the trouble is."

"You know I will. _Hestia _out."

The communication closed, and there was a beat where all that sounded was the siren of the alarm, and all that moved was the red flashing light. Then Clyde said. "Alert is at highest level until I say otherwise. All personnel arm yourselves!"

"Yes, sir!"

"I will fulfill my Master's wish."

Tanya and George were the only other people standing other than the woman with the black wings that didn't seem to be the Master of the Book of Darkness anymore. Something had changed about her, but neither of the Enforcers were given the time to muse upon that point.

"_Diabolic Emission__**.**_" A Dark Sphere was forming above the woman's outstretched hand. She was merely ignoring the fact that some bars separated her and the Enforcers. "Merge with the Darkness…"

"If she breaches the hull…!" George called out, trying to cast a barrier.

Tanya stopped him with a word. "Stop! It's Spatial! Shield up!" Her warning came just in time.

"_**Envelop,**_" Tanya's Phoenix stated.

"_**Round Shield,**_" George's Starfall intoned.

It was only due to the combined force of the shields did the Enforcers take negligible damage from the attack. From the sheer force of the spell, they knew that they were outmatched. Starfall gave off the chime that indicated that Paige was hailing him with the emergency code signal, but George couldn't even give Starfall the order to open the connection so that he could talk to her.

"_Blast Rain_." The woman stated… her tone similar to the Devices. George and Tanya were both forced to dive to either side of the attack, but the hail of magical blasts continued unabated. George let the Auto-guard take the brunt of the attack as he forced himself toward the prisoner. When he saw an opening, he took it.

"_Luna Buster!_" he called, letting loose Starfall's blast attack, but the only effect was that the woman no longer had the bars separating her from the Enforcers. George quickly spun to avoid another set of the _Blast Rain_ attack that yet continued from the woman's fist. She hadn't even paused to block his blast.

Tanya had apparently used her time more effectively. "We have engaged the Book of Darkness itself! Yes, the Defense Program! The Book is complete! Repeat! The Book is comp-" She was cut off by being struck dead on with one of the _Blast_s, but her Barrier Jacket absorbed the impact and her only symptom was to lose her breath. She had to take a more active role in defending herself.

George managed to maneuver so that he and Tanya trapped their adversary between them. The moment the _Blast Rain _ended and she started charging a new attack, Tanya and George both went on the offensive.

"_Flamethrower!_"

"_Luna Buster!_"

"_**Panzerschield.**_" The Defense Program flung out her hands, catching both of the attacks with shields that arose from her palms. The purple triangular Belkan shields were easy match for the Buster attacks, and when Tanya and George paused, she retaliated. "_**Blutiger Dolch**_," the Book in her hand stated. Sharp red points dug into both Enforcer's breaking off their attacks completely. George was now bleeding from a tear in his Barrier Jacket on his shoulder. Tanya had several tears, but no breakthroughs.

Tanya immediately charged as the Defense Program turned her head to George and fired an attack at him that he didn't even hear the name of. "We'll think of something!" she called for George's benefit before "_Burning Strike!_"

_But what else can we do?_ George thought, bringing up Starfall's _Round Shield_ again. _We can't bombard her, even if we got the chance to charge; we'd risk a hull breach._ Had to keep it in mind, though, if a _Buster_-class attack wouldn't even phase her, and she was easily able to handle _two_.

* * *

"_I am the Administration Program," she said quietly. "I have the power to affect basic things about the Tome if you command me to."_

"_Can you tell me what's going on now?"_

"_Of course. The Automated Defense Program is taking care of the external threats."_

"_I can't use the spells of the Book myself?"_

"_The Book acts to protect its Master."_

"_I didn't want to retreat into a pocket dimension and have someone else do my dirty work! I owe them a beating, and I intend to give it to them! Let me handle this with the power granted to me by the Book!"_

"_I cannot."_

"…_what did you say?" The Master's tone was deadly._

"_I cannot. I am flawed."_

"_Then what use are you? Can you get me out of here at all?"_

"_No, Master. We must hope the Automated Program successfully takes out all external threats quickly enough. Before…"_

"_Before what?"_

"_Before she loses control. I am…" _Crack. _The Administration Program found her head turned to the side._

"_I do not care to hear excuses," she spat at the silver-haired Program. "Nor apologies."_

"_Then I can say nothing, Master."  


* * *

_

The squad had been useless, but at least the addition of two more Enforcers had made the playing field a little more level. Not that George and Tanya were too useful after being battered about by the Defense Program for nearly ten minutes. George knew that he was going to be laid up in an infirmary for weeks and Paige would never forgive him for attempting to fight through such injuries.

But he didn't have a choice in the matter.

They had tried everything they could think of short of guaranteeing a hull breach with a bombardment attack, but they hadn't seemed to make any sort of significant dent in the Program's Armor. One of the newcomer Enforcers, being a melee specialist with a pair of daggers as his Device's primary form, had managed to keep her occupied by himself for several minutes, but that had been the best success they had. And they had it no more when he was thrown against the broken cell and impaled upon one of the bars.

This threw Tanya, George and the remaining Enforcer into combat with the Program once again, but Tanya and George were clearly flagging. The remaining Enforcer's weapon flashed constantly, trying to draw all attention and attacks to herself. She succeeded enough that Tanya and George were able to line up shots across from each other, though during the countdown both took hits to their Barrier Jackets. They only had one more chance at this, so they attempted to grunt through the pain.

"**Count zero.**"

"_Supernova!_" George called, managing somehow to charge the necessary power into the attack. He dimly heard Tanya's answering cry of her own bombardment, and both slammed into the Program at nearly point-blank range. Even with the significant damage the prison area of the ship had taken, there still wasn't all that much room to maneuver in it.

The pale white of George's attack and fierce red of Tanya's met with the deep purple of the Program's answering shields. This time the shields were obviously buckling though. There was a chance they could break through! But suddenly the Program was no longer in the blast sight and the two attacks were hitting each other. George and Tanya broke off the attack, but not before the Program had made it to Tanya's side and blasted right through the center of her Barrier Jacket as if it weren't there.

"TANYA!" George shouted, his voice hoarse from expended effort. She didn't answer; she only slumped to the floor.

The dissipating energies of the powerful bombardment attacks flared to life once more, which surprised all three combatants, but the Program only for a moment. She closed her eyes as she turned away from her fallen adversary. "It's begun again…" she said quietly, and then her eyes were open and hard again. And George attempted to steady himself alongside an Enforcer he didn't even know the name of.

* * *

_This is when I wish we could go out there._

_Just now?_

_I mean, every time. She's always alone when this happens to her._

_Signum's alone too, you know._

_I know that, but Signum will be back with us soon enough. When Signum's about, there's often hope. There's never hope when _she's_ about and alone._

_It's a sadness she has to bear._

_It's not a sadness I'd wish on anybody, much less one of us. She's the most broken of all of us._

_And yet the strongest. She manages. We would do well to emulate her._

_Maybe… but I wish we could_ help _her._


	12. Twilight

When George heard the scream, he knew he was alone with the Book of Darkness.

He didn't turn around to look at where the other Enforcer had fallen. He instead was forced to dodge around the room as several magical blasts chased him. It was… hopeless. He wasn't going to be able to defeat it by himself. Tanya might've had a shot…

_No. Don't think about her._

He didn't, though, and that was what mattered. But in the past minute something strange had been happening to the incarnation of the Book of Darkness. The tall silver-haired woman hadn't moved, and her body seemed to be more connected to the floor of the chamber… with greenery. The new stationary aspect was helpful to the remaining Enforcer, as the attacks were now always coming from the same place… at least originally.

The attacks stopped for a moment as the woman raised her hands to the sky. "I have… failed again…" she said haltingly, and then she was engulfed in a darkness that quickly spread out from where she stood. George darted to and out the door faster than he thought possible and slammed his hand on the close-and-lock pad on the outside.

"Starfall, open a connection to the bridge."

* * *

Twilight

* * *

"George!" Paige shouted the instant the connection went through. "What is going on?"

"The incarnation of the Book is doing a spatial attack that I had to leave the room for. She… she's grown herself into the ground. I think there's only a matter of time before she breaks down the door…" There was the sound of an explosion and the video feed went dark. "The door's breached," George said in an eerily calm voice. "With vines."

"Clarify, George," Admiral Harlaown asked with a carefully controlled voice.

"She's spouting vines everywhere!" the video feed still hadn't returned, and George sounded like he was either running or "_Luna Buster!_" in a battle. "I'm trying to hold back the spread, but it's way too fast for me alone…"

"What happened? Where are the other Enforcers?" Paige interrupted.

"…I recommend abandoning ship," George finished, ignoring Paige's plea.

Clyde frowned. "This is a big enough danger for the ship…"

"I'm being overwhelmed, Admiral!" George snapped. Paige gasped as the video blinked back on for a moment to show a vine shooting straight at the camera source and then the video was gone again. George cried out, but kept talking. "Ah! I – I don't think that there's much time before the ship becomes unflyable or… worse. I _strongly _– _Heavenly Blow!_ – _very strongly _advise evacuating the ship. Sir. George out."

"George!" Paige called again. "Don't you dare close the connection! George!" The screen in front of her read "Connection closed." She slammed her fist on the desk.

There was a long beat of silence on the bridge. "Evacuate. Code one. Get yourselves out." An explosion behind him punctuated his words and made his crew move from their frozen stupor.

* * *

_I…_

_You what?_

…_You asked me not to apologize so I shall not. I will simply tell you: The Defensive Program has lost control. I cannot assert control. I cannot return you to the –_

Crack. _Unacceptable. Get me out now._

_I can put you into a dream forever. I can suspend you in a pleasant dream for-_

_I don't care to be in a dream. I want to kill them! I want to get out there and _take my revenge!_ Do you know what those Bureau bastards did to me?_

_I don't. You didn't tell the Knights._

…_It doesn't matter. Get me out there by anyway possible._

_I cannot._

_You must._

_I cannot… I…_

_You what?_

_I… have nothing I can say.  


* * *

_

George never thought that fighting against the different roots and branches of a living plant could be so tiring. He was out of gas now, though he had managed to stall the progress of the Book's incarnation somewhat. He didn't think he was going to be effective for much longer, but there were escape pods only ten meters behind him that he didn't want to be compromised before they had been jettisoned.

"George!"

He heard Paige's voice behind him, and the moment of surprise was his undoing. The vine that came at him sharpened to a point he wouldn't have missed if he was fresh and fully alert, but in his state he had no chance to stop it in time. It traveled straight through his middle. Colors dulled. Sounds faded from his ears. Starfall fell from his hands. He clearly heard his name screamed from somewhere, but he didn't know where. Place lost meaning. Light faded to black other than a pinpoint of light. Then it was all gone.

* * *

_This is the Number Two Transport ship, _Hestia_. The Book of Darkness is out of control, and we can't stop it. It has engulfed the bridge, and some of the crew. Navigation systems and the Arc-en-ciel controls have also been…_

_Admiral Clyde, expedite the escape. You are to abandon the _Hestia_._

_I confirmed the evacuation of the remaining crew a moment ago. In a little over a minute, this ship's Arc-en-ciel will be fully charged. I will send the countdown to you. You must stop the ship before it fires…  


* * *

_

Paige clung helplessly to the uniform of the person closest to her as she cried. She didn't care who she held, only that the person would let her cling while she aired her fresh grief… her two best friends among all the worlds were gone. Even the explosion of the _Hestia_ behind her didn't affect her. She felt nothing but the pain, no matter how hard she clung to anything.

Signum looked up and closed her eyes. _I am… finished._ She faded from view, into a light that remained behind with the very confused soldiers that were guarding her.

Their report would later be disregarded by their superiors. They cited reasons of hallucinations and high-stress situations.

_We'll sleep now… we'll sleep until the next master is ready for us._

_We shall be ready when our master needs us._

Awareness came slowly but surely. Awareness of the others in the space inside the Book was comforting. It had been a long time, and yet a short time, since they had last seen each other. A camaraderie that had lasted for longer than anything. Camaraderie that was the only constant thing in their existence.

* * *

_Our Master is ready for us once again._

_What do we know about this one?_

_She is very young this time._

_Maybe… maybe that will help._

_It won't change anything._

_Silence, it's time._

_… Be safe._

"_**Anfangen**_**"**


End file.
